A fun example of the last point: we met Laura and Rich at the Buck Hall campground above Charleston, SC, when they brought freshly baked cookies from their campsite to ours on Christmas Day. When we arrived here 4 days after leaving Buck Hall, who should greet us with a batch of freshly baked cookies but Laura and Rich! They have since brought us some firewood, and even bath soap after they made a run into town! They are Michiganders who are exploring what it’s like to travel on an extended basis. They’re having a great time, and really seem to enjoy sharing their talents with others. They’ll be here for awhile yet, and we look forward to spending more time with them.

We had a grand time in 2011, and we have particularly enjoyed sharing it with you!

This particular trip has resulted in a slight change of philosophy for us. To date, we have always tried to move a little every day. Our overnights have usually been almost an afterthought, but we have often combined our need for water and sewer dump with an interest in a fun place to park by seeking out a campground.

Our experience in campgrounds has left us lukewarm, because state parks can barely handle our size, and their campsites are usually so tightly packed together that it feels almost like living in an apartment building!

On this trip, we arranged to hit several national campgrounds that were US Army Corps of Engineers sites. Whoa, what a difference! The sites are generally huge and spread out, and the campgrounds are nicely built so they are simple to maintain.

We haven’t wanted to leave! We explore the campground roadways and trails with the twins on our multiple daily walks, and see something new every time. This particular camp has only 27 campsites open, but it’s so large that our site is nearly a mile from the gate! There are over 80 sites in the park, so we’ve been walking through some of them each day. We figure to stay for 2 weeks and see how much we can explore!

One oddity here was the very low level of the lake. Turns out they drop its level now so it can be ready for spring rains….and any dramatic weather that might arrive! It’s still surprisingly busy with boats.

And the red Georgia clay! Check out that shoreline.

So check out the “What’s next” tab for the revised clues about our trip. In the coming days, we might list a few more stops down this way…if we can get permission to delay our return to the cold north for another month!